Being Michael Clarke

Australia coach Mickey Arthur and test captain Michael Clarke look on during the ICC Champions Trophy Group A fixture between Sri Lanka and Australia at The Kia Oval on June 17, 2013 in London, England. (Getty Images)

Despite never being a T20 specialist, under his leadership, Australia ended as runners-up to England in the 2010 edition of the tournament in the West Indies. He retired from the format in January 2011 and inherited captaincy from Ponting, who gave up the job after a quarterfinal defeat to India in the 2011 World Cup. And what followed next was something remarkable as “Pup” went on a ridiculously high-scoring streak.

After scoring his first three centuries as Test captain against Sri Lanka, South Africa and New Zealand respectively, Clarke broke all scoring records as he went on to score a mammoth 626 runs at an average of 125.20 in the 2011-12 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Clarke played breathtaking knocks of 329* and 210, with the latter being the highest individual score at the Sydney Cricket Ground, in front of his home crowd. His exploits led Australia to a 4-0 series victory.

He followed it up with 259* and 230 against the touring South Africans and became the first player in history to score four double centuries in a single calendar year. Continuing with his free-scoring run, he was the only one to take the fight to India and ended the series as Australia’s highest run-getter and only centurion, despite missing the last match of the series. He ended the season with 1595 Test runs and quite deservedly was named the Wisden Cricketer of the Year.

Known for his no nonsense approach as captain, Clarke has shown zero-tolerance towards indiscipline and was instrumental in the sacking of Andrew Symonds during an ODI series against Bangladesh, as he preferred to go on a fishing trip over attending a team meeting. Not to forget the recent (in)famous “Homework-Gate”.

Despite being the captain of what seems like the weakest Australian side in a long time, his record is still impressive, having won 32 out of 50 ODIs and 12 out of 24 Tests and 12 out of 18 T20s. But it’s the current form that matters, and on that front, Clarke will have to do something special to change the fortunes of his team.

With all his history of back problems, Clarke’s availability for the Ashes was Australia’s biggest concern. With him about to make a comeback, there is something for the Aussies to be optimistic about; they don’t really have anything else to cheer about these days anyway. For Australia to even put up a fight, they will need Clarke at his absolute best, both as a batsman and leader.

He, however, cannot win an entire series on his own and would need support of other the batsmen. But with most of them looking clueless, things don’t appear too bright. To rally his wards, he needs to first lift the morale of his team and try and bring the best out of them. Unfortunately, that looks impossible currently. They say a captain is good as his team; that, though, is not the scenario here. The simple truth is that the captain here is better than the rest of his team.

With his back being literally against the wall, Pup desperately needs some lady luck to shine brightly on him and his boys.

Are you listening Mrs. Kyly Clarke?